Floating-deck tank



June24, 1930. AKRAMER FLOATINGTDECK TANK Filed April 1. 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 J l/aw June 24, 1930. Q A. A. KRAMER I 1,767,142

FLOATING DECK TANK Jul 1e 24, 1930. KRAMER 1,767,142

' FLOATING DECK TANK Filed April '1. 1927' s Sheets-Sheet 4 June 24, 1930. A. AI kRAMER FLOATING DECK TANK m er i W ,H Y H I .w d v Patented June 24, 1930 UNITED STATES ANDREW A. KRAMER, on

PATENT. OFFICE.

Kansas my, MISSOURI FLOATING-DECK TANK Application filed April 1, 1927.- Serial in, 180,242.

My invention relates .to tanks and more particularly to floating deck tanks, or tanks having decks supported by the liquid within the tank and moving up and down with the level of said liquid. It-is a purpose of my invention to provide a tank of the above mentioned character wherein the contents of the tank are eifec= tively sealed off from the outer air, this being very desirable for fire prevention purposes. This is accomplished by suitable sealing means provided between the circumof this character, this is a very important.

featureof the invention. v

It is a'further purpose of my'invention to provide new and improved means for preventing the deck from rotating within the tank, this being highly important, as it pre vents undue strain on parts associated with .the deck, such as the drain line leading therefrom.

It is still a further purpose of my invention to provide means for draining water from the deck, comprising a well on the deck and, a. drain line leading therefrom, said drain-line adjusting its position in accordance with'the position of the deck; andto furthermore .provide means preventing the flow of liquid onto-the deck from said well' f or drain line, but permitting the flow of liquid from the deck into the well and drain line.

It is another purpose of .my invention to provide means for supporting the deck in a predetermined spaced relation from the'bottom of the tank for cleaning purposes, said means comprising flexible members engaging the top edge of the tank and flexible members engaglng a central member.

of the tank.

'ing portions of the deck and ta'nk, and

It is also an object of my invention to provide new and improvedmeans for properly guiding the up and down movements of the deck in the tank, comprising a central guidingmember in the form'of a post, and a sleeve-like member slidably engagingtherewith carried by said deck. Said guiding means are so related that the: deck is free to move from a point near the bottom of the tank, to such a point that the tank may be completely filled with oil or otherliquid.

. Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as the description of the drawings proceeds. I desire to have it understood, however, that I do not intend to limit myself to the details of construction shown or described, but that I intend to include as part or my invention all such obvious changes and modifications of parts as would occur to a person skilled in this art, andas wou'ld'fall within the scope of the claims. v

In the drawings:

Fi a tani therewith, said-deck being'shown as bein 1 is a vertical sectional view through held in spaced relation from the bottom 0' the tank for cleaning-purposes.-

Fig. 2 is a view similarto Fig. 1 showing the deck in full lines near-the uppermost limit of its movement and in dotted lines 'at the lowermost limit of its movement;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional View of the upper portion of the central supporting member for the deck.

Fig. 4;. is a fragmentary plan view of they deck, partly broken away.

Fig. 51s a. view partly in elevation and having. my improved deck associated.

partly-in section of a portion of the collapsible ladder-member and adjoining portions Fig. 6 isa side elevational view of the drainage means for the deck.

Fig. 7 is a plan viewthereof.

Fig. 8'is a section taken on the line 8 of Fig. 6 on an'enlarged scale. 1

' Fig. 9 is a fragmentary enlargedvertic'al sectional View through the sealing means between the tank and deck, showing adjoin Fig. 10 is a fragmentary face view of a plurality of the sealing means as viewed from the line 10-10 of Fig. 9.

Referring in detail to the drawings, my improved floating deck construction is applied to a tank having abottom 20 and a side wall portion 21. Mounted on the bottom 20 of said tank is a plate 22, upon which the I-beams23 are mounted, said I-beams supporting the plate 24, which is secured to the lower end of the tubular member 25 by welding the same to the collar 26 having screwthreaded engagement with said tubular member 25. The member 25 serves. as a central post-like guiding member, and its upper end is provided with a collar 27 screwthreadedly engaging with said member 25 and having a ring-like member 28 secured thereto in any suitable manner, as by welding. The ring-like member 28 is provided with openings 29 receiving the hook-like members 30 provided on theeends of the flexible members, such as cables 31, which have their outer ends secured to the brackets 32 provided on the side wall portion 21 of the tank near the top thereof, and projecting above said top. In order to provide for the adjustment of the flexible members 31, so asto properly center the tubular center pole 25, the turnbuckles 33 are preferably interposed between ,the brackets 32 and the flexible members 31. It is, ofcourse, to be understood, that the holes 29 and the brackets 32 are equidistantly spaced around the ring 28 and the top edge of the tank, to thus space the flexible members 31 substantially equally around thetank.

Slidably-mounted on the centraltubular member 25, is a tubular sleeve-like member 34 to which the radially extending members 35 of the deck framework are secured. Said members 35 are secured to'the tubular memher 34 preferably by welding, and, in order to provide a strong joint between said members the triangular plates 36 are welded to the member, 34, and a ringlike member 36, said members 35 being welded to the ringlike .member 36'. lnterpo sed between the radially extending'members 35, which extend all the way from the sleeve 34 to the outer edge of-the deck, areshorter radially extending fram'e'members 35, all said members being tied" together by transverse members 37, which may be of any desired cross sectional shape. Mounted on the frame .thus formed, are the deck plates 38. In order to provide a stronger joint between the deck and sleeve 34, the conical member 39 is welded both to the deck plates 38 and the sleeve 34. The members 35 and '35 preferably slope slightly toward the center of the deck, so that in a tank one hundred fifteen :feet in diameter, for example, the deck will'be about fourinches lower at the center thereof than at the circumferential may also be provided between the decln, and

the rods 43 to avoid sagging thereoflii' desired.

Depending from certain of the members 35 are leg members 16, a7 and 48, the members 48 being located near the outer circumferential edge portion of the deck, and the members d6 and 47' being located nearer the center thereof. Each of said leg members is provided with a foot portion 19, which is adapted to engage the bottom '20 of the tank, to'support the deck on said bottom, when the tank is emptied. Preferably diagonally extending braces 50 are provided between the members 47 and the deck.

Secured to the members 35 and 35' at the outer ends thereof, is the circumferentially extending channel member 51, depending from said deck, and in spaced relation to theside wall 21, the circumferential edge portion 52 of the deck being also spaced therefrom, thus leaving a gap, that must be closed to provide a complete seal between the contents of the tank under the deck and the outer air. It is,- of course, under stood that the deck constructed as described above forms a sheet-like member floatable on the liquid in the tank so as to move up and down with the change in level of the liquid in said tank.

The means for sealing the'gap thus left between the tank and deckto permit free movement of the deck within the tank comprises shoes 53, which are arcuatein form,

and which are hinged loosely at their lower held in position by any suitable means such as the cotter pins 57, The shoes 53 are, thus free to swing about their lower ends, andv are accordingly held in sliding engagement with the wall portion 21 of the at all times due to the action of gravity.

Extending upwardly from the deck plates 38 at the circumferential edge portion of the deck is an inwardly inclined flange 58 which has a base flange 59 secured to the deck in any'suitable manner, as by welding.

The shoes 53 are each provided witha pair of hooks 60, which are adapted to pass through slots 61 in the sheet metal basket members 62, which are dished downwardly so as to form containers for loose material 63, such as gravel. The ends of the basket members 62 opposite the ends supported bythe shoes 53 are curved on a longer radius as indicated at 64, and terminate in slightly inturned end portions 65, said basket'members slidably engaging with the inclined flange 58. Theshoes 53 are provided with flanges 66 at the edges thereof, and are slightly spaced so as to provide for the free individual movement thereof, whereby the same will always be free to engage with the tank wall 21. The basket members corre spond in number and in width to the shoes,

therebeing one basket member associated with each shoe, and there are, accordingly,

gaps between the basket members. In order to keep the loose material 63 from falling through the spaces between the basket members 62, strips of reticulated material, such said loose material.

are inserted between the members 71. and

as hardware cloth 67, are placed over the spaces between the basket members, over-- lapping the adjoining basket members 62 and having meshes of such size as to' prevent the loose material 63 from dropping through the same. In order to provide a more gas-tight seal than would be possible with the loose material 63 alone, fibrous sheet material 68 is employed in conjunc tion with said loose material. Said fibrous .sheet material, is, preferably, arranged in a series of overlapping lengths around the periphery of the deck, on top of the loose material 63, after a portion of said loose material has been put in the trough formed by the baskets 62 and members 67, and after said sheets 68 of fibrous material are put in place, the remainder ofthe loose material 63 is put in place, the fibrous sheet' material thus being embedded in and held in place by The fibrous material 68 securing devices 72. The members 70 and- 71 alternate, and each thereof is associated with an individual shoe 53. The members 70 are provided with upturned side flanges 73 which coincide substantially with the side edges of the shoes upon which the same are I mounted, while the-n1embers 71 are wider than the shoes carrying the same, and thus bridge the. gaps between said shoes, resting on the flanges 73 of the members 70. In

orderto prevent binding of the members 71 on the flanges 73 suitable spacing means 74 their shoes 53. The lower ends of the members 70 rest on the free edge portion'75 of the inclined flange 58 and are slidable thereover to permit adjustment of said members and 71 in accordance with the positions of thefshoes 53 carrying" the same. The members 70 and'71 constitute water deflecting means, whereby the water directed away from the space between the deck and tank wall, and onto the deck: Said members 70are also preferably provided with flanges 76 to prevent 'water from being driven under the same.

As stated above the deck slopes so as to be lower near the middle thereof than at the periphery thereof, and suitable 'draina emeans .1s providednear the center of t e deck, for draining the waterofi' the-same and conducting the same to a point outside the tank. Said drainage means comprises a drain well 77,which. is shown more in detail in Figs. 6 to 8 inclusive. Secured to'the top edge of the drain well 77 are angle members -7 8 forming an outwardly extending flange aroundsaidmember 77 whereby the same is secured to the. flanges 79 on-.certain of the adjoining frame members 35 of the deck.' Thewell 77 is preferably tapered to fitbetween said members 35" as shown in Fig. 7. The drain well 77 is mounted in asuitable opening inithe deck, and is provided with a threaded opening 80 in one of the-side walls thereof, near the bottom ofsaid well with which the threaded end- 81 of a swivelled coupling member 82 is connected. Said coupling further comprises a coupling member 83 within which the member .82 may turn, said member 83 being held in assembledv relation with the member 82 by means of the plate 84 and having an internally threaded end 85 with-which the ex ternally threaded end-of the elbow 86 is engaged'. Said elbow 86 is connected with a' plpe 87 havlng an elbow 88 on the opposite end thereof connected by means of a similar swinging coupling 89 with the elbow 90 car- 'riedby the pipe 91. The pipe 91 has an elbow 92 at its lower end connected by the swinging coupling'93, with the horizontal pipe 94. The horizontal pipe 94 preferably,

is provided with a collar 95 for spacingthe same slightly from the bottom of the tank and] is screwthreadedly' engaged with -a coupling 96 welded as indicated at 97 to the tank wall 21 and passing through the same so as to make a liquid tight joint therewith.

Thus the water fromthe deck is adapted to flow off into the drain well 77 and through the drain line comprising the pipes i 87 91 and 94 swingingly connected to ether, and out through the-side of the tank point outside the same, said drain'line due to the provision of the swinging couplings" being adapted to adjust itself to any posi tion the deck may assume between the top and bottom of the tank. Means is furthermore, preferably provided whereby liquid is prevented from flowing from the drain 'well 77 .onto the deck, but permitting the free flow of liquid from the-deck into the drain well 77 and down the drain pipe. This is done so as to prevent the accidental flow -to the plate 101 in any suitable manner, as

by welding. The valve member 100 is mounted in a valve cage 102- having threaded end portions 104 with which the nuts 105 engage to hold the valve cage in position in the drain well. Ordinarily liquid is free to flow downwardly through the opening 106 into the well 77, but in case there is an upward flow of liquid in said well, the ball 100 will rise and move into engagement with the seat 99, closing the opening 106 and preventing the flow of liquid upwardly through the same. v

Means is provided for obtaining access to the deck over the top of the tank no matter what the positionof said deck may be within said tank. Said means comprises a ladder having a pair of tubular side members 107, which are secured in fixed position in the tank, by being secured thereto at the lower and upper ends thereof. The lower ends of the side members 107 are secured to the bottom 20. of the tank, by welding the flanges 108 carried by the lower ends of the members-107 thereto. The upper ends of the side members or rails 107 are provided with elbows 109, substantially horizontally extending members 110 and elbows 111, wherebys aid members are carried over. the top edge of theside wall portion of the tank,-

andare further provided with depending tubular'members 112 extending on the outer side of the wall' portion 21 and secured thereto. Mounted on the tubular members 107 so as to be slidable along the same are the collarsll l, to which the treads or steps 116 of the ladder are secured-by any suit able fastening devices. l

The tubular side members 107 extend through openings 124i in the deck and slidably engage'with the tubular members 125 secured to the deck in any suitable manner,

as by welding, saidmeinbers 125 being reinforced by the conical members 126 welded to i the deck and to said members 125. v

Due to the fact that the tubular members 107 are slidably engagedwith openings in the deck, and are fixed in position relative to the tank, the deck is held from rotation within the tank thereby. This is very desirable, as it prevents undue wear on' the .sealing means betweenthe deck and tank and also any disarrangement thereof due to such rotation. Furthermore any strain on such devices as the drain line secured to both the deckand tank is prevented due to the fact that the deck is held against rotation in the tank.

It is sometimes desirable to obtain access to the tank below the deck, for cleaning and other purposes, and in order to accomplish this,a manhole 127 having a cover 128 is provided in the deck. In order to hold the deck in spaced relation from the bottom of the tank, so as to permit a man to enter the space below the deck, when there is no liquid therein, the flexible supporting members 129 and 130 are provided. These are secured respectively to brackets 131, secured to the members 35, and the brackets a0, previously described, at their lower ends. The flexible members 130 are provided with hooks 132 at their upper ends detachably engageable with the top edge of the side wall 21 of the tank, and the flexible members 129 are provided with hooks 133. engaging in equidistantly spaced openings 13 1 in the plate 28. When the deck is to be released so as to permit the same to move up and down with the level of the liquid in the tank, the hooks 132 and 133 are disengaged and the flexible-members 129 and 130 are preferably coiled around the brackets on the-deck to which they are attached.

The deck is ordinarily slightly below the levelof the liquid in the deck, indicated by the numeral'135in Fig. 9, but the top edge of the flange 5.84s a considerable distance above the levelof said liquid, the deck thus constituting a shallow panlike member float ing on said'liquid.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a tank, ofa floating deck therefor and drainage means for said deck comprising a drain well carried by saiddeck, a drain line extending therefrom and means associated with said well permitting the flow of liquid from said deck-intosaid well and preventing'the flow ofliquid from said well ontosaid deck.

2. The combination with a tank, of a floating deck therefor and drainage means for said deck comprising a drain well carried by said deck, a drain line adjustable in accord ance with the position of said deckleading from said well to a point outside said tank and means associated with said well permitting the flow of liquid from said deck, into said well and preventing the flow of liquid from said well onto said deck.

3. The combination with a tank, of a floating deck therefor and valved di'ainage means for said deck permitting flow of h quid into the same from said deck but preventing flow of liquid from said drainage means onto said deck.

4. The combination with a tank, of a deck smaller than said tank and movable therein and means for closing the space between the .bridgbing ,the joints between said sealing mem sealing members and f brous sheet material co-operating with said loose material to pro: vide a gas-tight seal between said deck and ers, loose material supported by said tank.

smaller than said tank movable therein and means for closing the space between the wall of said tank and said deck comprising loose material, means on said deck for supporting said loose material and fibrous sheet material embeddedii'n and tic-operating with said loose material to provide a seal between. said deck and tank. V c

6 The combination with a tank of a deck smaller than said tank movable therein, means for closing the space -between the wall ofsaid tank and said deck comprising a plurality of sealing members mounted on said deck engaging said ,wall, means for bridging the joints between said-members, loose material supported by said sealing members and fibrous sheet material co operating with said loose material to provide a gas-tight seal between said deck and tank,

and means for preventing rotation of said deck relative to said tan Y 7. The combination with a tank of adeck smaller than said tank movable therein, a plurality of shoes movably mounted on said deck and engaging the wall of said tank,

basket members" mounted on said shoes; means for bridging the joints between said members, loose material supported bysaid' basket members and fibrous sheet material coope'r ating with said loose material to pro-.

vide a seal between said wall and deck,

8. -The combination with a tank of a deck deck and engaging the} wall of said tank'and water deflec ors mounted on said shoes -comsmaller than said tank movable therein, a

plurality of shoes movably mounted on said deck and engaging the wall of said tank and water deflectors mounted 'on said shoes comprising alternating flanged members and members overlapping said flanged members,

said m mbers being each associated with an individual shoe and'relative'ly movable.

10. The combination with a tank of a deck smaller than said tank movable therein, an

shoes comprising alternating flanged mem bers engaging said upwardly extending 5. The combination with a tank ofa deck -on said deck and inclined water' deflectors mounted on said shoes comprising alternating flanged members engaging said up- ,wardly extendingflan e and members overlappingand resting on said flanged members.

12. The combination with a tank of a deck smaller than said tank movable therein, an

upwardly extending inclinedflange on said,

deck, .a plurality of shoes movably mounted on said deck and inclined water deflectors mounted on said shoes comprising alternating flanged members engaging said upwardly extending flange and members overlapping and resting on sa d flanged members, said members being each associated with an indie A vidual shoe and relativelymovable.

13. The combinatiton with a tank, of av deckmovable therein and means for draining water from said deck to a point outside said tank, comprising a drain line adjusting its position in accordance with the position of said deck, a'drain well" on said deck with which said .drain line is connected and a check valve in-saiddrain well. e I

.14. The combination with a tank, of a deck movabletherein and means for drain ing waterfrom said deck to a point outside said tank, comprising a'drain line adjusting its posittion in accordance with the position of-said deck, a drain well on said deck with which said drain line is connected and a ball valve in said drain'well preventing upward flow'of' liquid from said well onto said deck. 151 The combination with a tank, of. a deckmovable therein and means for draining the water from said'deck to a pointout side said-tank, comprising a drain line ad-- justing its position in accordance with the position of said' deck, a drain well on said deck with which said-drain lineis connected,

.a-ball valvein said drain well and a valve prising alternating flanged members and members overlapping said -flanged members; 9. The combination: with a tank of a deck seat in'said well-above said valve and between said well and deck.

16. -The combination with a tank, of a deck movable' therein and means for .draining the water from said deckto'a point outposition of said deck, a drain well on said deck with which said drain line'is connected, aball valve in said drain well, a cage there- -side said tank, comprising a drain line adjus'ting its .position in accordance with the for, and a valve seat in said well above said valve andbetween said well and deck.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name, this 8th day of March, 1927.

' ANDREW A. KRAMER. 

